Panel Speaker Ear Location

ABSTRACT

An apparatus including a speaker and a sensor. The speaker includes a vibrating element and a display element. The vibrating element is configured to at least partially move the display element to generate sound waves from the display element. The sensor is configured to sense when an ear of a user is placed at the speaker.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The exemplary and non-limiting embodiments relate generally to a displaypanel speaker and, more particularly, to location of a user ear.

2. Brief Description of Prior Developments

Flat panel displays are becoming more prevalent in devices such as smartphones. Generating sound from a panel display is being investigated.

SUMMARY

The following summary is merely intended to be exemplary. The summary isnot intended to limit the scope of the claims.

In accordance with one aspect, an example apparatus includes a speakerand a sensor. The speaker includes at least one vibrating element and adisplay element. The vibrating element is configured to at leastpartially move the display element to generate sound waves from thedisplay element. The sensor is configured to sense when an ear of a useris placed at the speaker.

In accordance with another aspect, an example method comprises sensingpresence of an ear of a user at a display element of a speaker of anapparatus, where the speaker comprises at least one vibrating elementconfigured to at least partially move the display element to generatesound waves from the display element; and based upon the presence of theear being sensed at the display element, the apparatus performing apredetermined operation.

In accordance with another aspect, an example non-transitory programstorage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program ofinstructions executable by the machine for performing operations, theoperations comprising based, at least partially, upon a signal from asensor, determining presence of an ear of a user at a display element ofa speaker; and performing a predetermined function based, at leastpartially, upon the determined presence of the ear being sensed at thedisplay element.

In accordance with another aspect, an example embodiment may be providedin an apparatus comprising a housing; a speaker connected to thehousing, where the speaker comprises one or more vibrating element andone or more vibrated element, where the one or more vibrated elementcomprises an exterior housing member of the housing, where the vibratingelement is configured to at least partially move the vibrated element togenerate sound waves from the vibrated element; and a sensor configuredto sense when an ear of a user is placed at the vibrated element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an example embodiment of an apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating some of the components of theapparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of one of the audio display modulesshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded side view of portion of the apparatusshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a chart illustrating performance of an audio signal atdifferent Y-axis locations on the panel speaker shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a chart illustrating performance of an audio signal atdifferent X-axis locations on the panel speaker shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic front view illustrating use of force sensors inthe apparatus for detecting a user's ear;

FIG. 8 is a schematic front view illustrating capacitive sensors in theapparatus for detecting a user's ear;

FIGS. 9A-14A and 9B-14B illustrate examples of sensor images fordifferent locations of a user's ear, and illustrations of approximatelywhere the apparatus would be relative to the user's ear for those sensorimages;

FIGS. 15A-15B illustrate how guidance may be used to guide a user tomove his or her ear to a predetermined location or sweet spot;

FIGS. 16A-16B illustrate another example of how guidance may be used toguide a user to move his or her ear to a predetermined location or sweetspot;

FIG. 17 is an example of a user interface to allow a user to select userselectable setting of an ear guidance system;

FIGS. 18-20 illustrate examples of user interface images to guide a userto a predetermined location or sweet spot which may be used in additionto non-visual user guidance;

FIGS. 21-23 illustrate examples of how different areas of a userinterface may have different audio signal attenuations;

FIGS. 24-26 illustrate different sound signal outputs along a Y-axis forthree different devices;

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram of one example method; and

FIG. 28 is a schematic side view of an alternate example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a front view of an apparatus 10incorporating features of an example embodiment. Although the featureswill be described with reference to the example embodiments shown in thedrawings, it should be understood that features can be embodied in manyalternate forms of embodiments. In addition, any suitable size, shape ortype of elements or materials could be used.

The apparatus 10 is a hand-held communications device which includes atelephone application. In an alternate example the apparatus might notcomprise a telephone application. In the example shown in FIG. 1, theapparatus 10 may also comprise an Internet browser application, cameraapplication, video recorder application, music player and recorderapplication, email application, navigation application, gamingapplication, and/or any other suitable electronic device application,such as may be provided on a smartphone or tablet computer for example.Referring to both FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus 10, in this exampleembodiment, comprises a housing 12, a display module 14, a receiver 16,a transmitter 18, a rechargeable battery 26, and a controller 20 whichmay include at least one processor 22, at least one memory 24, andsoftware 28. However, all of these features are not necessary toimplement the features described below. For example, features asdescribed herein may be used in a non-portable apparatus which does nothave a battery.

The receiver 16 and transmitter 18 form a wireless mobile communicationinterface to allow the apparatus 10 to communicate with a wirelesstelephone system, such as a mobile telephone base station for example.The wireless mobile communication interface 16, 18 may allow theapparatus 10 to communicate such as by 4G, 4G LTE, 3G, CDMA, etc. forexample. However, in an alternate example embodiment the receiver 16 andtransmitter 18 might not be provided, such as when the apparatus 10 doesnot have telephone capabilities. For example, the apparatus 10 mightmerely be a gaming device or a music/video player. However, for a devicehaving telephone capability, cellular circuit switched telephony or VoIPmay be provided for example. So, a cellular system transmitter andreceiver are not necessarily needed, such as if the device has only VoIPcall functionality. However, even with a device which has VoIP callfunctionality, the device most likely may have a transmitter and areceiver for Wi-Fi. Internet access for the apparatus 10 might beprovided by a short range communications system through the televisionconsole or a wireless WLAN for example. These are only some examples,and should not be considered as limiting.

Referring also to FIG. 3, the display module 14 forms a speaker 70comprising a vibrating element 72 and a display element 74. The displayelement 74, in this example, is a touch screen display which functionsas both a display screen and as a user input. The display element 74 maycomprise a touch input device (TID) 30, such as a capacitive sensor forexample. However, features described herein may be used in a displaywhich does not have a touch, user input feature. Alternatively, anotherexample may comprise an apparatus which has a touchpad or touch-panelwhich is not part of an electronic display screen. The electroniccircuitry inside the housing 12 may comprise a printed wiring board(PWB) having components such as the controller 20 thereon. The circuitrymay include a sound transducer provided as a microphone.

In this example the vibrating element 72 comprises a piezoelectricmember 75 connected to a printed circuit board 76. The display element74 is an electronic display. A member 78 connects the piezoelectricmember 75 to the back side of the display element 74. The piezoelectricmember 75 is flexed by the printed circuit board 76. This causes thepiezoelectric member 75 to move the electronic display 74 in and out asillustrated by arrow 634 to generate sound waves from the front of theelectronic display 74. Referring also to FIG. 4, in this example theapparatus comprises two of the piezoelectric member 75 connected to theback side of the display element 74. The piezo actuators may be directlycoupled to the display module or might not be directly coupled to thedisplay module. The speaker in a broader definition may compriseadditional element(s). For example, a speaker may have a plate under thedisplay module where the piezos may be used to actuate the plate so thatthe plate could move/vibrate the display in a z-direction (634). Awindow plate 80 may be provided on the front face of the display element74. In an alternate example embodiment, rather than a piezoelectricmember, the vibrating element may comprise vibrating of the display witha dynamic actuator such as speaker or vibra. Thus, features as describedherein are not limited to using a piezoelectric actuator.

Features as described herein may fundamentally utilize implementation ofan “Audio Display” or “panel speaker” concept which has been developedby Nokia Corporation. In the Audio Display concept, generally, at leastone piezo actuator may be suitably coupled to the display module forsound generation so that the display module can be used as aconventional display, but further for sound generation and perhapstactile feedback. In alternative embodiments of Audio Displayintegrations, the piezo actuator may be coupled to the display window(in front of the display module) for sound generation. There are variousways of reproducing sound waves in the direction of the display module.The audio display module 14 is configured to function as a display andalso function as a speaker or sound transducer.

As seen in FIG. 2, the audio display module 14 is connected to thecontroller 16. The controller 16 is configured to control display ofimages on the display element 74, and also control generation of soundfrom the audio display module 14. The source of the images and soundsmay comprise any suitable source(s), such as applications, video, datafrom the Internet, television signals, etc. The audio signals sent tothe audio display module 14 may be formed or controlled by thecontroller. The audio signals may be telephone voice signals from atelephone conversation. In this example the audio display module 14 isconfigured to provide an electronic display feature, an audio speakerfeature and a haptic feedback feature. However, the haptic feedbackfeature might not be provided in an alternate embodiment.

A traditional earpiece transducer in a mobile telephone is very locationsensitive. The user can hear the audio well only when the earpiece isagainst the ear. Features as described herein relate to earpiece audioand, more specifically, experience improvements for a case where thereis no conventional earpiece transducer, but the device's display/frontwindow may be used as a panel speaker and also as an earpiece.

Features as described herein may be used for guiding the user foroptimum audio playback performance with a device having a panel speakeras an earpiece. If the front window/display works as a panel speaker,and there is no conventional earpiece transducer, then the whole displayarea is available to be used as an earpiece. However, with a panelspeaker earpiece solution the audio performance may not be uniformthroughout the display area. Audio tuning of a device in general is nota straight forwarded task. If the device does not have a specificearpiece location for the user, audio tuning becomes even more difficultsince audio performance is not uniform throughout the display area.Features as described herein may be used to improve the situation with amethod of guiding the user to use a certain area, or certain areas, onthe front face of the display element 74 as an earpiece location and,thus, guide the user to avoid the areas where the virtual earpieceperformance is not at its best. Features may be used to guide the userto move the ear close to the area of the panel earpiece where the audioperformance is as its best. Performance here refers, for example, tofrequency response or distortion.

FIG. 5 shows measurements from one type of audio display experiment. Thedevice had two piezo actuators under the display element used to drivethe display as a panel speaker. Audio performance is at its best whenthe ear is close to the location of the piezo actuator (s). Thedifferent curves have been measured with different distances from thetop of the device, i.e., this image shows the impact of verticalmovement of the ear over the display. Y location Y1 had the bestperformance as shown by its graph line. Y location Y2 had the worstperformance as shown by its graph line. FIG. 6 shows different curvesmeasured with different distances from the middle of the device alongthe x-axis, i.e., this image shows the impact of horizontal movement ofthe ear over the display. X location X1 had the best performance asshown by its graph line. X location X2 had the worst performance asshown by its graph line. From these two figures it can be seen thatthere is different audio performances at different X and Y axiscoordinates of the display element 74.

When a user places his or her ear at the display element 74, theapparatus is configured to detect the ear on the display element. Onetype of detection may be detecting the location (such as X and Y axiscoordinates) of the ear at the display element 74. After the detectionhas occurred, the apparatus 10 is configured to perform a predeterminedoperation or function. In one example the predetermined operation is toprovide guidance to the user to assist the user in moving the apparatusand the ear relative to each other to a predetermined location (such asan audio sweet spot for example).

Location of the ear at the display element 74 may be accomplished usingsensors. One example is to use a (high-sensitivity) touch sensor thatrecognizes the ear. Another example is to use force sensing and/orpressure sensing on the display element such as relative forcedifference between different areas of the display. The invention is notlimited to using the above mentioned sensor technologies to detect theear position. Other sensor technologies could be used. Another aspect isthat the intelligibility of the audio signal could be increased innon-optimal areas. For example, if certain frequencies are notreproduced well in certain areas of the display, then different audioequalization could be used to compensate the losses. This would decreasethe need for guiding the user.

Referring also to FIG. 7, in this example embodiment the apparatus 10comprises force sensors 32. Referring also to FIG. 8, in this exampleembodiment the apparatus 10 comprises conductive sensors 34 provided asa layer on the display element 74, such as transparent electricallyconductive material, Indium Thin Oxide (ITO) for example. The sensors 34may be part of the touch input device (TID) 30 for example.

For the embodiment of FIG. 7, this may be used for detecting earlocation using force sensing. Ear location can be detected to a certainaccuracy using force sensing technology, such as strain gauges forexample. Based on the relative values of different gauges (in theexample in FIG. 7 there are four gauges under the display element),approximate ear location can be calculated. Naturally, it does notmatter what touches the display, so the assumption is that during a callon the earpiece anything touching the display must be the user's ear.

For the embodiment of FIG. 8, this may be used for detecting earlocation using capacitive touch sensing. Referring also to FIGS. 9-11,the images show high-sensitive touch sensor sensing of an ear 42 of auser 40 gently put over the ear at different vertical locations. FIGS.9A, 10A and 11A are sensor images corresponding to when the position ofthe phone is at the bottom of a user's ear, at the middle of a user'sear, and at the top of a user's ear, respectively. FIGS. 9B, 10B and 11Bgenerally illustrate the approximate locations of the phone relative tothe user's ear for the sensor images shown in FIGS. 9A, 10A and 11A,respectively. The circles and numbers in FIGS. 9A, 10A and 11A indicatean algorithm trying to find out where the fingers (holding the apparatus10) are over the display, and are not relevant.

If ear location placement guiding or feedback is provided, any suitabletype of guiding may be provided. Guiding may be done, for example, byattenuating the audio signal when the ear is on a non-optimal area. Inone type of example embodiment the guiding attenuation may be continuousso that the farther from the optimal area, the more attenuation isapplied. Attenuation may also be made frequency-dependent, such as byattenuating higher frequencies more than lower frequencies for example.Attenuating the audio signal is just an example of the technologies thatcan be used to guide the user. It is possible to notify or guide theuser in other ways, such as by using haptic feedback when the ear is ontop of a non-optimal location for example. The haptic feedback may beprovided by one of the piezoelectric members 75 for example.

FIGS. 12-14 show images similar to FIGS. 9-11 of high-sensitive touchsensor sensing of an ear gently put over the ear at an angle of about 45degrees relative to vertical. In FIGS. 12A and 12B, the ear is on thetop of the display element 14, in FIGS. 13A and 13B in the middle and inFIGS. 14A and 14B on the bottom. The circles and numbers indicate thealgorithm trying to find out where the fingers are over the display, andare not relevant.

Referring also to FIGS. 15A-15B, FIG. 15A shows the ear 42 at thedisplay element of the display module 14. A predetermined location 44has been determined to have the best audio performance. Thus, theapparatus may be configured to provide guidance to the user to move theear 42 and apparatus 10 relative to each other such that the ear 42 isrelocated over the predetermined location as illustrated by FIG. 15B.The guidance may be haptic vibration of the display module 14 on the earwhile the ear is at the non-predetermined location shown in FIG. 15Auntil the ear is moved to the predetermined location as shown in FIG.15B. This is only an example. Referring also to FIGS. 16A and 16B,another example may comprise providing the attenuated audio signal 46when the ear 42 is not located at the predetermined position. When theear is located at the predetermined position, the audio signal 48 is notattenuated as illustrated by FIG. 16B.

In one example embodiment the ear position relative to the displayelement 74 can be quite well detected using the touch sensor 30. Thecontroller 20 may be provided with an algorithm used by the processor 22that calculates the ear position. Alternatively, or additionally, thealgorithm may be part of the touch sensor subsystem that does all themath and only indicates the location of, for example, the ear hole. TheFIG. 9B-14B images are not even done using the latest technologyavailable, and the newer touch sensors are even more sensitive andaccurate.

Referring also to FIG. 17, an example of an image displayed on thedisplay element 74 is shown to allow for User settings of the apparatus10 related to the ear location guiding system. By default, having theear guiding system ON may be provided as an automatic feature. However,the user may be given an option to switch it OFF and/or adjust thestrength of the feedback (such as haptic feedback for example) asillustrated by the user selectable settings 48 and 50 shown in FIG. 17.The strength adjustment 50 may mean that the stronger the setting, thesmaller the sweet spot, and/or the more aggressive the attenuationaround the sweet spot for example. By default also the strength settingmay be part of the device manufacturer's audio tuning.

Referring also to FIGS. 18-20, examples of images, on the user interface(UI) at the display element 74, are shown when the apparatus 10 isreceiving an incoming call. These three example views show how the UIcould indicate to the user where the ear should be placed (where thepredetermined location for the best audio signal performance islocated). In these three examples the predetermined location issymbolized by the images 52 a, 52 b and 52 c, respectively. The sameimages 52 a, 52 b, 52 c may be used during dialing an outgoing calland/or during a telephone call for example.

Referring also to FIGS. 21-23, ear position mapping to audio processingwill be discussed. FIG. 21 shows an example how volume control can guidea user to the best possible area. The area 54 marked on top of the UIshows the “good quality” area. If the ear canal is recognized to be ontop of that area, downlink audio may play normally. If the ear canal isoutside that area 54, then downlink may be muted for example. FIG. 22shows another example how volume control can guide to the best possiblearea. The area 56 marked on top of the UI shows the “good quality” area.If the ear canal is on top of the area 56, then audio plays normally. Ifthe ear canal is in dim area 58, then downlink audio may play with halfthe volume for example (or volume adjusts gradually between nominal andzero volume depending on the ear canal distance from the area 56). Ifthe ear canal is outside the areas 56, 58, then downlink may be muted.

FIG. 23 shows another example how volume control can guide to the bestpossible area. The area 60 marked on top of the UI shows the “goodquality” area. If the ear canal is on top of the area 60, then audioplays normally. If the ear canal is in dim area 62, then downlink audioplays with half the volume (or volume adjusts gradually between nominaland zero volume depending on the ear canal distance from the dark yellowarea). If the ear canal is on top of the area 64, then the device giveshaptic feedback in order to warn the user from getting out from the goodarea. If the ear canal is outside the areas 60-64, then downlink may bemuted.

The idea of a panel speaker is to make a telephony use case easier tothe end user. The traditional earpieces are very location sensitive. Aconventional panel speaker does not have significant locationsensitivity. The mechanism described herein is something in-between, andprovides guiding the user to use an area of a panel speaker (that couldbe for example the upper half of the display) where the audio quality isgood or the best. This may provide guiding of the user to avoid an area(that could be for example the lower half of the display) that shouldnot, for one reason or another, be used as an earpiece region of thepanel speaker.

FIGS. 24-26 show the audio signal location sensitivity in device y-axis.FIG. 24 corresponds to a traditional earpiece that works only in a smallarea at the top of the device. 74 a is the display component seen fromthe device side and 66 a symbolizes the approximate audio output levelif the ear is on that location on the display. FIG. 25 illustrates anuncontrolled panel speaker that works on the whole display (although thequality may not be good everywhere). 74 is the display component seenfrom the device side and 66 b symbolizes the approximate audio outputlevel if the ear is on that location on the display. FIG. 26 illustratesthe display component 74 where the speaker is controlled (as describedabove) such that the panel speaker works in an area 66 c that isspecifically defined. Also, the level outside the sweetspot is not soabrupt, but can gradually fade out depending on the distance from thesweetspot. With the apparatus 10, a traditional earpiece transducer innot provided and, software may be used to reduce the area which soundcomes from on the display element 74 based upon ear location sensed onthe display element 74.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart that describes what is shown in the UI and whenthe attenuation (or other processing depending on the ear location onthe display) may occur. Showing the visual cue about the best audioquality sweet spot is optional and can occur also when a call is beingreceived or established; not only during the call.

An example embodiment may be provided in an apparatus comprising aspeaker comprising a one or more vibrating element and a displayelement, where the vibrating element is configured to at least partiallymove the display element to generate sound waves from the displayelement; and an ear a sensor configured to sense when an ear of a userobject is placed at the speaker.

The object, such as an ear for example, can be detected without anyphysically touching in some example embodiments. For example, capacitivesensing (hover touch) could be utilized. It is also possible to have asensor which may detect the object when the object is located at thespeaker (in close proximity to the speaker), but not necessarilytouching the speaker.

An example embodiment may be provided in an apparatus comprising aspeaker comprising a vibrating element and a display element, where thevibrating element is configured to at least partially move the displayelement to generate sound waves from the display element; and a sensorconfigured to sense when an ear of a user is placed at the speaker.

The example described above is based on a tactile audio display, butother similar technologies could be used as well. For example, a linearvibrator or a bone conduction transducer could move the display windowin front of the display. A “display element” may mean such an electronicdisplay itself and/or the display window in front of the electronicdisplay.

The ear sensor may be configured to sense a location of the ear relativeto the display element. The apparatus may be configured to be adjustedby the user to change a size of a predetermined location on the displayelement and/or change an attenuation of an audio signal from the speakerwhen the ear is not located at the predetermined location. The apparatusmay further comprise an ear placement guide configured to provide userfeedback between the speaker and the ear of the user to help the user toplace the ear in a predetermined location at the display element. Theapparatus may further comprise a controller connected to the displayelement to present a visual image on the display element of thepredetermined location to help the user to place the ear at thepredetermined location on the display element. The ear placement guidemay be configured to be adjusted by the user through a user input of theapparatus comprising the display element. The ear placement guide may beconfigured to provide the user feedback by attenuating an audio signalwhen the ear is not located at the predetermined location. The earplacement guide may be configured to attenuate the audio signaldifferent amounts based upon a distance between the ear and thepredetermined location. The ear placement guide may be configured toattenuate at least one frequency differently from another frequency. Theear placement guide may be configured to attenuate the audio signaldifferent amounts based upon at least two different locations on thedisplay element away from the predetermined location. The sensor maycomprise a touch sensor at the display element. The sensor may comprisea force sensor and/or a pressure sensor at the display element. Theapparatus may further comprise a controller configured to perform apredetermined operation based upon a signal from the sensor. Theapparatus may be configured to perform at least one of the following asthe predetermined operation: provide haptic feedback to the ear of theuser on the display element, provide different audio equalization basedupon location of the ear on the display element. The apparatus maycomprise a telephone application, a transmitter and a receiver.

An example method may comprise sensing presence of an ear of a user at adisplay element of a speaker of an apparatus, where the speakercomprises a vibrating element configured to at least partially move thedisplay element to generate sound waves from the display element; andbased upon the presence of the ear being sensed at the display element,the apparatus performing a predetermined operation.

Sensing presence of the ear may comprise sensing location of the earrelative to the display element of the speaker. The predeterminedoperation may comprise providing feedback at the speaker to the ear tohelp the user to place the ear in a predetermined location at thedisplay element. The predetermined operation may comprise providingdifferent audio equalization based upon location of the ear on thedisplay element.

An example embodiment may be provided in a non-transitory programstorage device readable by a machine, such as memory 24 for example,tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machinefor performing operations, the operations comprising based, at leastpartially, upon a signal from a sensor, determining presence of an earof a user at a display element of a speaker; and performing apredetermined function based, at least partially, upon the determinedpresence of the ear being sensed at the display element.

An example embodiment may be provided in an apparatus comprising ahousing; a speaker connected to the housing, where the speaker comprisesone or more vibrating element and one or more vibrated element, wherethe one or more vibrated element comprises an exterior housing member ofthe housing, where the vibrating element is configured to at leastpartially move the vibrated element to generate sound waves from thevibrated element; and a sensor configured to sense when an ear of a useris placed at the vibrated element.

In various locations above equalization is used as an example of onetype of feature which may be adjusted based on the ear location.However, features as described herein are not limited to merelyadjusting equalization. For example, dynamic range compression and noisesuppression are also algorithms which may be adjusted or changed basedupon knowing the ear location. These are only examples. Otherapplications may also use the ear location/position determination as ininput for their respective applications.

The examples discussed above in the drawings relate to earlocation/position relative to an electronic display. However, featuresas described herein are not limited to use with a display. Referringalso to FIG. 28, if the display 74 is vibrated, a side-effect is thatthe whole device may vibrate including the back cover 86. If a force isapplied to the display stack, approximately the same force (just in anopposite direction) is applied to the chassis/body. Since the chassis istypically heavier than the display stack, its vibration is lesssensitive and, thus, the earpiece functionality performance is not sogood in the chassis than in the display stack, but is still usable. Inan alternate example embodiment, the chassis or a portion of the chassismay be designed to provide an enhanced or enlarged vibration capability.Thus, the back-cover 86 can also be used as an earpiece. The back-covermay work as an earpiece even if the actuator 72 is at the displayelement 74 at the front side. In other words, even if we vibrate thedisplay stack, the whole body may become “a vibrated element”.

As a side effect of vibrating the device, it will also emit audio. Thus,the ear detection may be in the rear cover. In this example embodiment atouch sensor may be provided at or in the back cover 86. This example isillustrated in FIG. 28 where the apparatus 81 comprises a display 74 ona front side, a main body 84 having electronics therein, a back side 86of the housing, and a vibrating element 88. The vibrating element 88 isconfigured to vibrate the back side 86 to cause sound to emanate fromthe back side 86. The user can place his/her ear against the back side86, and the back side functions similar to a panel speaker, but as anearpiece for the user's ear. The apparatus 81 does not have a speakerbehind the back side 86 of the housing with holes through the back sidefor the sound to travel through. Instead, the back side 81 is part ofthe speaker. The back side 81 is a vibrated element which is vibrated bythe vibrating element 88 to transmit sound from the speaker, such as avoice acoustic signal from a telephone call for example. In an alternateexample the apparatus may have an additional speaker behind the backside 86 of the housing with holes through the back side for additionalsound to travel through. It should be noted that the vibrating element88 need not be provided for the back cover 86 to be the vibrated elementof an earpiece speaker; this is still possible with merely the vibratingelement 75.

In one example embodiment, having a display is not actually necessary.For example, in one type of example embodiment features may be usedwithout using the display or a device which does not actually have adisplay. One example is the back cover of the apparatus 10.

It is possible to use the above described functionality so that there isear detection, but not necessarily ear detection at the display, such asa touch sensor at the back cover for example. As another example analternative or additional sensor might be one or more cameras 90. One ormore front cameras can be used for this purpose. The camera sensor(s)could be used alone or in conjunction with the display sensor(s) tosense the location of the apparatus 10 relative to the user's ear and/orother portion of the user's head. If the front camera(s) is in thebottom part of the device (instead of the top part where it typicallyis), the front camera or multiple front cameras could be used to detecta distance or proximity of the ear or other portion of the user's head,relative to the speaker.

An example apparatus may comprise at least one processor, and at leastone memory having software, where the processor, the memory and thesoftware are configured to perform a predetermined operation based, atleast partially, upon presence of an ear of a user being sensed at ahousing member of the apparatus, such as at a display element of theapparatus.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is onlyillustrative. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised bythose skilled in the art. For example, features recited in the variousdependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitablecombination(s). In addition, features from different embodimentsdescribed above could be selectively combined into a new embodiment.Accordingly, the description is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a speaker comprising oneor more vibrating element and a display element, where the vibratingelement is configured to at least partially move the display element togenerate sound waves from the display element; and a sensor configuredto sense when an ear of a user is placed at the speaker.
 2. An apparatusas in claim 1 where the sensor is configured to sense a location of theear relative to the display element.
 3. An apparatus as in claim 2 wherethe apparatus is configured to be adjusted by the user to change a sizeof a predetermined location on the display element and/or change anattenuation of an audio signal from the speaker when the ear is notlocated at the predetermined location.
 4. An apparatus as in claim 2further comprising an ear placement guide configured to provide userfeedback between the speaker and the ear of the user to help the user toplace the ear in a predetermined location at the display element.
 5. Anapparatus as in claim 4 further comprising a controller connected to thedisplay element to present a visual image on the display element of thepredetermined location to help the user to place the ear at thepredetermined location on the display element.
 6. An apparatus as inclaim 4 where the ear placement guide is configured to be adjusted bythe user through a user input of the apparatus comprising the displayelement.
 7. An apparatus as in claim 4 where the ear placement guide isconfigured to provide the user feedback by attenuating an audio signalwhen the ear is not located at the predetermined location.
 8. Anapparatus as in claim 4 where the ear placement guide is configured toattenuate the audio signal different amounts based upon a distancebetween the ear and the predetermined location, where the ear placementguide is configured to attenuate: at least one frequency differentlyfrom another frequency, and/or the audio signal different amounts basedupon at least two different locations on the display element away fromthe predetermined location.
 9. An apparatus as in claim 1 where thesensor comprises at least one of: a touch sensor at the display element,a force sensor at the display element.
 10. An apparatus as in claim 1further comprising a controller configured to perform a predeterminedoperation based upon a signal from the sensor.
 11. An apparatus as inclaim 14 the apparatus is configured to perform at least one of thefollowing as the predetermined operation: provide haptic feedback to theear of the user on the display element, provide different audioequalization based upon location of the ear on the display element. 12.An apparatus as in claim 1 where the apparatus comprises at least oneprinted wiring board including a transmitter and a receiver, at leastone processor, and at least one memory comprising software, where thesoftware comprises a telephone application.
 13. The apparatus as inclaim 1 where the one or more vibrating element is configured to vibratean exterior housing member of the housing to generate sound waves. 14.An apparatus as in claim 1 where the speaker comprises one or morehousing member of the apparatus, where the vibrating element isconfigured to at least partially move the one or more housing member togenerate sound waves from the one or more housing member, where the oneor more housing member substantially provides a display area.
 15. Anapparatus as in claim 14 where the one or more housing member comprisesat least one of an electronic display and a display window.
 16. A methodcomprising: sensing presence of an ear of a user at a display element ofa speaker of an apparatus, where the speaker comprises one or morevibrating element configured to at least partially move the displayelement to generate sound waves from the display element; and based uponthe presence of the ear being sensed at the display element, theapparatus performing a predetermined operation.
 17. A method as in claim16 where sensing presence of the ear comprises sensing location of theear relative to the display element of the speaker.
 18. A method as inclaim 17 where the predetermined operation comprises providing feedbackat the speaker to the ear to help the user to place the ear in apredetermined location at the display element.
 19. A method as in claim17 where the predetermined operation comprises providing different audioequalization based upon location of the ear on the display element. 20.A non-transitory program storage device readable by a machine, tangiblyembodying a program of instructions executable by the machine forperforming operations, the operations comprising: based, at leastpartially, upon a signal from a sensor, determining presence of an earof a user at a display element of a speaker; and performing apredetermined function based, at least partially, upon the determinedpresence of the ear being sensed at the display element.